The tour will open at the Omnibus Theatre on the 2nd March, with the tour running until the 24th April 2027.
Following a Scottish tour, the Glasgow Company of Wolves is
embarking on a 10-venue UK tour this spring with their physical retelling of The Bacchae.
Reworking Euripides’ ancient Greek tragedy, first performed in Athens in 405BC, The Bacchae is a solo retelling, bringing to life the story of Dionysos, the untamed god of theatre,
wine and hedonism, through storytelling, movement and ancient song.
Written and performed by Ewan Downie (Julius Caesar, Achilles, Company of Wolves), The
Bacchae sees him embody five characters from Greek mythology, multi-rolling as Dionysus, his father Zeus, his mother Semele, her sister Agave and Agave’s son Pentheus, King of Thebes.
The show features original songs by Ewan Downie and Anna Porubcansky (UNBECOMING, UK tour; Seven Hungers, The Barn Banchory) and is the final work directed by the late choreographer and creative director Ian Spink (A Mouthful of Birds, Young Vic; Petruska, Scottish Ballet).
This rendition of the show is also being directed by Heather Knudtsen (The Believers are but
Brothers, UK tour; Illegal, Scandal Theatre) and has been developed closely with the School of Classics at the University of St Andrews and Ancient Greek specialist Dr Michael Carroll.
Meanwhile, the creative team behind this production includes: set and costume designer Alisa Kalyanova (Supposing by Zinnie Harris, Traverse Theatre; Die Fledermaus, Opera Bohemia), sound designer Anna Porubcansky (UNBECOMING, UK tour; Seven Hungers, The Barn Banchory) and lighting designer Katharine Williams (Walk with Me, Bloomsbury Festival; Maggie & Me, The Enemy, National Theatre of Scotland).
Lead Artist and co-Artistic Director Ewan Downie comments, I first fell in love with this story 30 years ago, so making this show has been a long time coming. The story of a god who is so upset when he’s rejected that he takes terrifying and bloody revenge, has always rung true.
After reaching a huge range of audiences, from local to international, at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2025, and then touring to 13 venues Scotland-wide over Spring 2026, I’m delighted to now have the opportunity to take this show to people all across England. Since we first made the show in 2023 it has only become more relevant, more urgent: in a time of relentless division, The Bacchae looks at what pushing others away costs, and what it might take for us to be whole again.”
To find out more about the tour visit: https://companyofwolves.org/